Lawn maintanence around hive?

[StephenL]

I use top entrances and that way I don't have to worry about lawn or weed care at all...just let the flowers grow and save time too.

[gregsky88]

I am a newbee in Amarillo, TX getting my bees in about two weeks. I have a couple of patches of white clover about 100 feet from where my hive will be. I just notices some areas of the clover infested with aphids. Any suggestions on how to eliminate this peat and not harm the bees with any residual or systemic insecticide spray?

[robherc]

Tobacco tea....the nicotine is organic, will kill the aphids quickly, but breaks down slowly in UV light & shouldn't leave ANY residue in 2 weeks. (click on the link for a recipe from eHow.com)
...just please do it in the evening, so no ferals & no other beekeepers' bees get poisoned while you're spraying it.

[Intheswamp]

Soaps may be gentler than tobacco tea...nicotine is highly toxic but in a tobacco tea it is supposedly very shortlived (a few hours). Sprayed *late* in the evening it should(?) be inert by the next morning from what I've read. Be aware of tobacco mosaic virus in the event you may be gardening in the area. Inspect the area for natural aphid predators before spraying soap, tobacco tea, or anything else...the predators may already be working on the aphids.

Colorado State University...
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05547.html

GardenWeb suggests: Only use natural soaps or Murphy oil soap or mild liquid dishwashing soaps like Ivory. Soap help make teas stick better to plants and pests, and they also paralyze many insects in direct contact. Use no more than 1-2 tablespoons of soap per gallon of water. Do not use much on flowering fruit or vegetable plants. Can hinder fruit production.

Don't use detergents...only soap.

Best wishes,
Ed

[Sherillynn]

I don't have an area where I can put my bees where I wouldn't have to mo just do it really early in the morning, either mower or weed whip, and wear my veil. It doesn't seem to bother them. Its all finished so fast.

[Mrobisr]

Round up and/or stock salt. Stock salt is about 4.50/50lbs and will not hurt anything except the vegetation.

[jupiterx]

I use rock salt. The kind you put in a water softener. 40 lbs twice a year scattered around 2 hives. It costs me about 8 dollars a year. It kills almost most all of the vegitation.

[willyC]

I use rock salt. The kind you put in a water softener. 40 lbs twice a year scattered around 2 hives. It costs me about 8 dollars a year. It kills almost most all of the vegitation.

Now thats a tip!

[ChickenChaser]

Per jupiter and willy's mention of salt - something just clicked.
I'm a poultry farmer and with the annual cleanout of my houses, the company I contract with provides bagged stock salt, which is broadcast on the bare dirt pads. I understand this is a treatment for parasites/larvae left behind.
As far as around/under the hives, weed control and maybe the added benefit of some measure of non-chem pest control could result.

CC

[Intheswamp]

Beware...you may attract the local deer herd to your yard with the salt.

Ed

[Aerindel]

I mowed right up to the entrance of my hive (italians) and didn't have any problems. The didn't even seem to notice the mower. The weed wacker on the other hand did kind of piss them off, probably because the string was hitting the hive itself.

[delber]

I also use the weed wacker. My hives are on a stand so I do hit the stand, but didn't hit the hive. This has worked well so far. I don't use a vail or anything, just do what I need to and move on. On another note. . . I'd be surprised if the deer would actually hit this salt. The salt that you get for a softener will go into the soil fairly quickly. One rain and it'll be almost all gone from the surface. Also I think that deer go for salt more in the winter. Is this correct? Regardless the salt bricks for deer seem to hold up much better than what's used on a softener.

[LadySteelsheen]

I dug down about 8 inches, poured in some gravel we had sitting off to the side of the driveway, and set big flat rocks down, kind of looks like a rustic patio. I've got butterfly bush and bee balm as a wind break/screen beside it, and the lawn on the other side. the other advantage of this, is because I'm foundationless, I was able to really level the hives nicely. Also, I was worried about frost heaving, which we get a lot of around here. And it just looks nice and tidy with the hives and the flowers So far no problems, although I'm new to all this.

[kallen]

I have been mowing right up to mine for years, as long as you don't throw the clippings against the hive you won't have any problems.

[Intheswamp]

Deer will eat salted dirt, it doesn't have to be a brick...they're animals looking for something they need and want and that isn't available in abundant quantity in most places...that's why they go for it so eagerly. But, they may not even give it a second thought, depends on the deer I guess.

Ed

[chicklet]

I am also doing a sort of rustic patio. I'm making stepping stones, using cake pans I got at goodwill as the molds. Some of the stones are decorated with family members handprints, others have impressions of leaves. I'm planting creeping thyme between the stones. A lot of trouble, yes, but my hive is fairly close to the house and I wanted it to look nice (and i hate mowing and weed eating too!!).

[brushmouth]

Vinegar, cheapest you can find at your grocers applied with in a garden sprayer.(without rain)
I create an area of soil near the hives/stand so I can mow close without a problem.
Spray with straight vinegar to kill vegetation anywhere/safely.
Early in the morning the girls don't even know your there.

BM

[tomohern]

Two layers of cardboard, one layer of burlap coffee bean bags and 3 inches of cedar wood chips. No mowing, weed whacking or spraying needed.

[cjisler]

The cheapest weed killer I've found is the saved brine water you get from making churning homemade ice cream. I save it in plastic milk jugs. I use it around the hives, on the fence lines and cracks in concrete. Of course, you can just make it with rock salt without the churning. I got the idea years ago when I read in the Bible about Joshua salting the ground after conquering some city. And the girls like the saltiness occasionally.
And instead of buying insecticidal soap, I just dissolve plain old homemade lye soap, which is natural and pure, not a detergent, in some water to spray. It's good for treating ant mounds, just keep it away from the girls.
Layers of cardboard and a winter's worth of shredded junk mail make good mulch around the hives as well. It mats together like paper mache after a while, impervious to weeds.
Carol

[notaclue]

Mine are on cider blocks two high, not a lot of attention needed, for my ease. about three times a summer I weedeat or mow and if I have upper ebtrance I usually don't have to do that until just before first frost, snow or ice.